ACB conducts searches at premises linked to TTD Deputy Executive Officer in Tirupati

Andhra Pradesh ACB conducted simultaneous searches at TTD Deputy EO Mendu Lokanatham’s residence, office, guest house and relatives’ premises in Tirupati and nearby areas over alleged disproportionate assets. Officials also checked bank lockers as part of the ongoing anti-corruption investigation

Tirupati: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday is conducting searches at the residence of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) Deputy Executive Officer, Mendu Lokanatham, in Tirupati.

ACB teams have been carrying out searches at Lokanatham’s residence in Peddakapu Layout since Wednesday morning.

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Meanwhile, ACB officials are also conducting searches at his office in Tirumala. Searches were carried out simultaneously at both his residence and office. ACB officials were also conducting simultaneous searches at the premises linked to his relatives.

Seven teams of ACB officials, headed by ACB DSP Srinivasa Rao, started the searches at 6 a.m. Lokanatham was at his residence when the officials arrived to begin the searches. The searches by the anti-graft agency are part of the investigations into the allegations that the TTD official owns assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

According to sources, searches were on at a guest house in Tirumala linked to Lokanatham. Simultaneous searches were also on at the houses of Lokanatham’s two brothers-in-law in Tirupati.

Similarly, officials were also conducting searches at the residence of his sister in Chellur, Yerpedu mandal. ACB officials also opened Lokanatham’s lockers at the State Bank of India’s STV Nagar branch in Tirupati.

Lokanatham is currently serving as the Temple Deputy EO of the Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple. He has previously held various positions in the TTD. This is the second time in a decade that the ACB has conducted searches at the premises linked to a TTD official.

In 2016, the agency had conducted searches at the residence of T. Bhupathi Reddy, then Deputy Executive Director of TTD. Simultaneous searches were also conducted at the houses of his relatives and known associates in Tirupati and Bengaluru.

The raids were conducted based on allegations that the accused was holding assets disproportionate to the known sources of income. The officials had recovered documents/records related to 12 housing sites, two bank lockers, an apartment and a four-storey building.